The Dragon's Heart, And The Broken Rose RWBY Part Five
by AlucardJenkins
Summary: This story is my take on how Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long began their relationship. Commissioned By: canonseeker 'Eren N.'* I hope this turns out to be the story you are hoping for.


~The Dragon's Heart, And The Broken Rose~

By: AlucardJenkins ~Devin V.

Part Five: Heartbreak Is Only Step One

"Could a good day get any worse?" Taiyang said to himself as he finally approaches the path to his home.

The Night sky is setting in, only the glow of the stars and the shattered moon illuminate his way, with some clouds starting to set in. He looks to his immensely dark house, noticing only a single light on. The light was coming from an upstairs window.

"Yang's room... She must be giving Summer a hard time if she is still up this late." He said to himself, walking up to the door.

He puts his key into the door, and opens it slowly. A dim light is on in the living room, as well as the kitchen. As he enters, he kicks off his shoes, placing them against the wall. He hears no sound coming from upstairs yet.

He places his belongings gently on the floor by the couch, and some on the couch itself. He peers his glance to the kitchen and notices something on the counter. Slowly walking into the kitchen, he noticed Summers hood is not on the chair like before.

"Now I just feel bad…" He said softly, looking at the counter now. A Plate of covered food, and a small plate of cookies wait there for him. Walking over to it, he sees a folded up piece of paper under the plate of cookies. He pulls it out from under the plate, unfolds it, and read it in his head.

_Tai,_

_I know you said you might be home late,_

_So I made sure to make you something you could eat cold._

_If I'm asleep on the couch, please wake me so I can leave._

_You can eat first though, I'm in no hurry._

_~Summer~_

_Oh, and Yang helped with the Cookies!_

_They have her seal of approval!_

Tai lets out a small laugh while cracking a smile at the last part of the note. He places it back under the plate and leaves the kitchen, making his way toward the stairs. Tiptoeing up the stairs, he sees that Yangs door is opened slightly as he approaches the top. As he nears the door, he peeks around the corner and notices her room is empty.

"Hm, Strange..." He said softly to himself.

Looking back, he sees that the door to his bedroom is slightly open as well. He pushes it open slowly to see a dim light on. Summer is asleep on the right side of the bed, on her left side, draping her arm over Yang who is also asleep closely next to her. They are using Summer's long white hood as a blanket.

"Aw, what a precious sight." Tai said to himself.

He tiptoes slowly to the side Summer is sleeping on and taps her on the shoulder softly.

"Hey, Summer!" He whispered to her, tapping her shoulder more.

Summer stirred a bit while still sleeping, motioning herself closer to yang, and holding her tighter. Tai Leans in closer to her ear.

"Summer!" He whispered again, continuing to tap her shoulder.

She shoots up toward his direction defensively, almost ready to punch him in the face from being startled. Tai jumps back, narrowly missing her raised fist.

"Oh, Tai! I'm sorry, you scared me!" She whispered.

"No-no, its ok, my fault." Tai said back softly. He notices Yang starting to move in her sleep a bit. He motions a hand out to Summer.

"Come, we can talk downstairs so we dont wake her." He said.

Summer slowly lifts her hood off her body, and tucks in Yang with it. She slowly swings her legs around off the edge of the bed and slips her feet into Tai's slippers. Tai looks down at her feet, and then back to her.

"Comfy?" He asked sarcastically.

"Oh!" She said softly, kicking the slippers off. She curls her feet close to each other in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I was using them before. Had a bit of an accident with my boots." She said, standing up slowly. He waves his hands at her in protest.

"Its ok, I don't mind, I was just messing with you." He said softly, starting to make his way toward the doorway slowly. Summer follows, leaving the slippers behind

"No, I'll be leaving anyway." She whispered back. She stops following in a quick instant.

"Oh! One sec." She said, turning back to quickly tip-toe to Yangs side of the bed. She leans down to kiss her on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams little dragon." She whispered to her.

Tai looks on from the doorway and smiles. Summer stands straight up again, and makes quick eye contact with him, still smiling. She looks away with a small blush forming, pretending to fix her hair. She hurriedly tiptoes back to him waiting, leaving the room together. Summer turns to slowly close the door, leaving it open very slightly.

Tai makes his way down the stairs, with Summer following closely behind. Both make their way to the kitchen. Tai walks toward the cookies on the counter and grabs one. Summer pulls out a chair from the table and sits, crossing her legs.

"Sorry about falling asleep on your bed Tai. Yang woke up and wouldn't stop crying. I tried to bring her down here to lie on the couch with me, but she still wouldn't stop. I carried her around, trying to comfort her, but then I decided to try your bedroom. She started to calm down when we entered, and almost immediately stopped crying when I laid her down on the bed. I decided to lie next to her and cuddle, trying to get her to fall back to sleep. I guess I ended up falling asleep with her too." She explained. Tai nods and takes a bite of the cookie.

"It's fine. Honestly that was a good call. She has had a few rough nights lately and I have been bringing her to bed with me. That's probably what she wanted." He responded, eating the rest of the cookie.

"Soooo how did it go!" She asked excitedly, quickly changing the subject.

"Well, lets just say, I was on Ozpin's good side for once." He said jokingly.

Summer springs up from her seat and runs over to him, giving him a big hug.

"Oh I'm so happy for you! I knew you could do it!" She yells softly, hugging him tightly. Tai has a constricted look on his face.

"Geez Summer, you are stronger than you look." He jokes. She lets go of him, and blushes.

"Sorry, I'm just excited. You've been working so hard for this." She starts.

"And to have Ozpin be the one evaluating you? You were never one to be on his good side." She jokes.

"Hmph, like I said, for once I was. Professor Port couldn't even be there to observe too. Needless to say I was immensely nervous." He explained.

"I bet. But you did it! You must be so happy!" She said, slightly jumping in place with excitement for him. He lets out a short sigh.

"Yes I'm very happy, but also a bit conflicted." He said. She looks at him with slight confusion.

"Conflicted? Why would you be conflicted? You've been working so hard for this, is it not what you wanted?" She questioned.

"No it's not that, I WANT this… I'm just not sure what I'm going to do with Yang. I'll have to be at Signal more than before." He started, walking over to the table to take a seat on the chair summer had already pulled out. She looked at him in a concerned way, still standing up.

"Look how long it took me to get back home tonight. I had to do a ton of paper work with Port to even just take the position. I'll have more nights like that with just student work too. Not to mention, I missed the boat I intended to take by mere minutes, making me even more late than I wanted to be." He said letting out a long sigh, looking down in a defeated way.

"Well that's why I'm here Tai, I'm here to help. I'd do anything for you and Yang." She says walking over to him slowly, placing her hand on his shoulder. He looks up at her.

"So don't worry so much, I'll help you as long as you need me." She says smiling at him. He makes quick eye contact with her, then looks toward her hand on his shoulder. He grabs it softly to gently remove it from his shoulder.

"That's my next problem... I shouldn't have to keep relying on you Summer." He said letting go of her hand. She retracts it back to her side.

"Tai, I'm just-" She starts.

"Trying to help, I know." He interupts.

"Summer, I know you have been skipping out on missions to come help me." He said to her sternly. She looks away from him in silence at first.

"I-I was only…" She started again.

"You lied to me, saying you could be here for me. I have even asked you in the past if I was taking you away from things like this… and you lied." He said standing back up now.

"You need to tell me the truth Summer. I did not want to take you away from your duties and missions you accepted just to help me." He continues, practically scolding her like a child.

She turns away from him, trying to hold back slight tears.

"You're right. I-I shouldn't have lied like that to you.. I-I just wanted to be there for you. Y-you needed help with Yang and- I...!" She said hysterically, only to be abruptly interrupted by Tai grabbing her from behind and spinning her around from her shoulders quickly, but gently. She gasped out by the sudden forced movement and looked at him wide-eyed with concern, with slight fear for what he might say.

"T-Tai I'm Sor-!" She tries to say. Only to be embraced in a hug by Tai, which shocked her.

She didn't hug him back at first, but quickly gave in, hugging him back. Slightly resting her head against him. She was still unsure how to feel from the sudden mood change.

"You have a heart of gold Summer, I can never thank you enough for how much you have done for me. I'm so lucky to have you in my life, not to mention how much of an impact you are having on my daughter. You are practically raising her as much as I am, and I can only thank you more and more for that." He said softly to her. She tightens her hold on him.

"I-I only want what's best for you Tai." She answers softly back.

"Just please be honest with me. I know your intentions are good, and I appreciate it fully. But… I've dealt with enough lies in my life. Even the smallest ones get to me…" He said softly. She slightly pulls away from him to look him in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry Tai. I would never want to hurt you like Rav- THAT-that." She said, fumbling her words to try and correct herself. His grip on her slightly loosens from the hug.

"I know Summer, like I said, your intentions are always good." He said, letting go of her.

'Stupid! Stupid Summer! So Stupid!' was taunting her in her own head.

She lets go of him as well slowly, and reluctantly.

"I-I promise I will figure something out so I can be here if you need me Tai!" She urges, raising her voice slightly. He lets out another sigh, and looks at her.

"Its ok, I know, we'll talk about it more. For now I'm just… really tired and too stressed to even think of something myself." He said, walking past her. She turns to look on, defeated in her own self doubt.

'Why did I bring her up! Why?!' her mind taunts her more.

He walks over to the sink to fill a small cup with water to drink. He looks slightly out the window and notices droplets of water trickling down it.

"Oh? It's raining." He stated. Summer springs to life.

"Oh? Oh! My boots!" She yelled out, rushing to the back door. Quickly opening the door, she grabs her boots and socks to see that they were once again, soaked.

"I guess it's not as bad as milk…" She said to herself softly.

Tai takes a long sip of the water he poured, putting the cup down when he finished.

"Do I want to know what happened the first time?" He asked.

"Glass of milk shattered, went everywhere, my boots and socks suffered… that sum it up?" She said sarcastically. He laughs at her response.

"Heh, I guess so." He replied. She puts her boots and socks back outside, not wanting to track water into the house and lets out a stressful sigh.

"You can spend the night Summer, you're always welcome here." He said

"I don't know why you waste Lien on an inn when you could just stay here." He added.

Summer walks back over to the chair to sit down again.

"No, I wouldn't want to impose." She said back.

"How would you be imposing? I'm offering." He urged. He looked back out the window, the rain appearing to worsen.

"No, I have places to be, And I already booked a room at the inn." She said softly.

"Why are you unwilling to stay? We used to have to share a bedroom at Beacon with two other people, this is leagues different now. Besides I have a bed in the spare room, you wouldn't have to sleep on the couch." He said, trying to convince her more. She looked away in silence.

"Summer…" He said softly, walking up to her. He places a hand on her shoulder, which stunned her a bit from his sudden touch.

"Please stay, it will make me feel better. I wouldn't feel right having you leave in a rain storm like this. Please… I will even cover your lost Lien from the inn." He said softly to her, smiling.

She looked him in the eyes, and couldn't help but blush a bit. She managed to work a smile back, and grabbed his hand that was still on her shoulder.

"You drive a hard bargain Tai, I'll stay. Oh, and I don't want your money too." She said, gently removing his hand from her shoulder.

"Do you always change your mood on the fly like that?" She asked, still holding his hand she removed.

"My turn to be sorry then." He answered.

"You are right though, I shouldn't have lied like that to you. But I think I already have a solution to help you out with Yang too." She said letting go of his hand. He walks over to the counter and grabbed another cookie.

"Let's hear it then." He responded.

"It's simple, I watch Yang on days you need to be at Signal." She started.

"And your missions?" He interrupted.

"I'll only take missions that wouldn't require me to travel far, and only on days you can be home." She said.

"You wouldn't make as much Lien taking petty missions though Summer, that's not fair to you." He responded. She shakes her head in protest.

"It's not about the money Tai! I want to help you, please. You've worked far too hard for this to let it go to waste!" She urged. He puts the cookie back down on the plate, not even with a single bite.

"I don't think you will take no for an answer." He said with a sigh.

"Your stubbornness is rubbing off on me after all this time." She said back, crossing her arms.

"I'll figure out some form of payment for you then." He said.

"For the last time, I don't want your money Tai!" She said standing up, yelling a bit. She quickly puts a hand to her mouth as if to mute herself.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that." She said.

"Don't worry, when Yang sleeps, she REALLY sleeps." He jokes. He starts to walk toward the living room.

"I'll show you to the spare room." He said, beckoning her to follow.

"I must warn you though, the last person to stay in the spare room was Qrow." He adds. Summer gets up and laughs a bit to herself.

"Is it too late to change my mind and leave?" She jokes, following him out of the kitchen. Tai points to the front door.

"Unless you can dodge rain, by all means, there is the door." He jokes back. They both share a laugh as they near the stairs. Tai stops at the first step, allowing Summer to go first to be polite.

"After you." He said. She stops next to him and gives him a stern stare, pointing to her skirt.

"I know this act of 'Politeness' trick." She said. He quickly waves his hands in a defensive protest.

"HEY! Who do you think I am? Qrow?" He states. She gives him a playful shove, and starts to walk up the stairs.

"Just messing with you." She said with a laugh. Tai follows closely behind, purposely looking down after her joking remark.

"Oh! Speaking of Qrow, he stopped by today." She said softly, reaching the top of the stairs and turning to him.

"I wasn't expecting him to come by anytime soon, what did he come by for?" He questioned, joining her at her side. They start to walk toward the spare room, but stop at Tais room.

"Hold that thought Summer." He said, slowly pushing his door open to check on Yang.

Yang was still sleeping soundly in the same place, snuggled up in Summer's hood. Tai walks in slowly to the side Yang is on and gently picks her up. She snuggled up against his chest as he carries her out of the room. Summer quickly walks into his room as well and grabs her hood from the bed, and meets Tai who has already entered Yangs room across the hall.

"I thought you said you were letting her sleep with you." She whispered as she entered the room.

"I've been trying to make it a habit to put her back when she falls asleep though. Plus, for a tiny little thing, she sure is a bed hog." He whispered back to her, gently placing Yang in the crib. He leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead.

Summer walks up next to him, leaning in as well to give Yang a kiss on the forehead. She drapes her hood over Yang, and tucks her in with it.

"Leaving your hood with her?" Tai whispered.

"Yes, she looked so cute wrapped up in it." Summer whispered back, standing straight up now. She gives Tai a smile.

"Come, lets not wake the little dragon." Summer said, tapping him on the shoulder to follow her out, which he does.

Tai slowly closes Yangs door, leaving it slightly open at the frame. Summer is already at the door to the spare room.

"You keep it locked?" She said fiddling with the handle.

"I also use it as storage for things I don't want Yang to get into. Even though she cant open doors yet, my luck I will forget to close it sometime." He said approaching the door with a key he pulls out from his pocket.

"Don't plan to keep me locked in here, do you?" Summer jokes, crossing her arms.

"Oh no! She's onto me!" He said back, unlocking the door. He slowly swings the door open and flicks a light on. Summer rolls her eyes at his response.

The room is surprisingly neater than Summer anticipated. Only a few stacks of sealed boxes clutter a corner of the room. There is a closet as well, which was shut. Besides the boxes, only a single person bed in the opposite corner, with a desk next to it. A small window in the center of the opposite wall as well, moonlight slightly gleaming through.

"It's not much, but it beats walking in the rain I hope." Tai said with a small laugh.

"Hm, it will do. How much will room service cost me for the stay?" She asked jokingly. Tai walks over to the closet, opening it slightly to pull out a blanket and a pillow.

"Might want to take that up with the morning department." He responds, pulling off the old blanket and pillow from the bed.

"Morning department?" She asked sarcastically. Tai puts the new blanket on the bed and places the pillow at the end. He lets out a sigh as he fixes the blanket to fit the bed neatly.

"Mhmm, all questions of that nature I leave to Yang. She's the early bird after all." He said with a laugh, grabbing the old blanket and pillow. Summer can't help but laugh a bit loudly by his response.

"I'll be sure to do that then." She said, trying to contain her laughter. Tai folds up the old blanket and pillow into a ball, somewhat. He pats the bed, proud of his neat work.

"There you go Miss, nice fresh blanket and pillow! Free of the Qrow scent!" He exclaimed jokingly.

"OH! Such a gentleman!" Summer said, reluctantly jumping for joy. They both share a laugh.

"I'll be right back, make yourself at home Summer." He said walking past her and slightly shutting the door.

Summer walks over to the bed slowly, taking a seat on the edge. She motions herself in place a bit to feel how soft the bed is. As she sat there for a few moments, she shifts her gaze to the boxes at the corner of the room. Her curiosity peaked as she looked on, causing her to get up and walk over to them. She tried to see if there was any she could peek into, but they were all sealed tightly. She then decided to walk over to the closet, opening it. More sealed boxes clutter the floor of the surprisingly deep closet. Miscellaneous Shirts and coats hang on the rail, she pushed them aside to look at them out of pure curiosity. One caught her eye though, a dress. She reached for it, slowly pulling it out and trying not to knock other clothing off the rail. It was a low cut white ball dress, with thin straps, and a grey trim. She held it chest level to reveal it was thigh length. Raising it up higher to get a better look, she pondered for a few moments where she has seen this before.

"This is from… that night." She said softly to herself.

A mix of emotions start to take over. Summer grips the dress, the urge to rip it starting to sound like a good idea to her. Anger, jealousy… sadness… all blend into one in her mind. In an instant, she snaps out of her wave of emotions and throws the dress back on the rail, and closing the closet. She quickly turns around to see the door slowly opening, and Tai walking in while holding something folded up in his arms.

"Making yourself at home I hope?" He asked, walking over to the bed.

"Y-yes, I was just pacing around really." She said, knowing that was a complete lie. Tai turns to her and motions a nod to the pile of clothing that he has just placed on the bed.

"I-uh, have a few options for you here. I figured you might not want to sleep in the clothes you have on now, thought this would be more comfortable." He said. Summer walked over to the pile of clothing and started picking through them a bit.

"That was thoughtful of you." She said, still looking through the clothing.

"Well, there is some old shirts of mine there, and… some of Ravens old nightwears." He said reluctantly. Summer grabbed what appeared to be a low cut nightgown, with thin shoulder straps. She held it up towards Tai's direction.

"Hm, are you sure this isn't yours?" She teases.

"Alright, alright, you caught me! It's mine." He said, playing along. The two share a laugh.

"I hope this helps though, I wouldn't want to sleep in clothes I've been wearing all day." He said softly.

"It's fine Tai, I'll make due. Thank you for being so thoughtful." She said, giving him a small smile. Tai lets out a sigh and turns toward the door.

"Well, I'll leave you be then." He said, walking toward the door.

"Oh! You never told me why Qrow stopped by, I almost forgot." He said turning around quickly.

"Oh, r-right. He-uh." Summer started. She hesitated greatly, not wanting to tell him what Qrow actually said. Tai looked at her with slight confusion.

"He… said he would come by again to tell you, it wasn't super important." She lied.

"Hm, if it wasn't that important, he could have just told you to tell me then." He responded, slightly puzzled.

"Y-yes, that's what I said, but h-he insisted he tell you." She said, stuttering her words.

"Well then, on that, I will leave you to get some rest. Have a good night Summer, I'm glad you decided to stay." He said, giving her a smile.

"You too Tai, after your day, you deserve a nice rest too." She responded with a smile back. He gives her a nod of agreement.

"And, I'm sorry again for the way I acted earlier." He started.

"The more I think about it, the more I was out of line." He said, slightly looking down. Summer walks over to him, and gave him a small hug. He hugged her back in a small hesitation, but embraced her all the same.

"Its ok Tai, I understand. It's not like it wasn't justified." She said softly to him, looking up at him with a small blush forming.

"Still, it's not fair to you. You have helped me more than I could ever repay." He said, looking away slightly.

"I would do it all over again too. I will always be here for you." She said softly.

The two look each other in the eyes for a few brief moments, almost getting lost in the other's gaze. Summer begins to blush more, but gives him another smile. She was fighting her own urges again, the voice in her head tugging on her emotions. 'Do it Summer, now is your chance.' echoed in her head. She slightly parted her lips, not enough for him to notice, leaning in ever so slightly closer to him. She felt as if she was in a trance while they were holding each other still. His smile was only making it harder for her to contain her emotions. She leaned in closer to him, her face aligned with his. 'Is he.. going to let me do it?' She thought. Her lips were only inches away from his. In an instant, she snapped her head to the side, to rest it against his shoulder for another hug as he bent down to hug her back. 'I can't do it…' She said in her mind.

"Never change who you are Summer, I love you for that." He whispered to her. She jolted away from him, shocked by his words.

"Y-you what?" She asked defensively. He was also showing a sense of shock from the suddenness of Summer pulling away from him.

"I-I said I love you for the way you are. You're so kind, thoughtful, and caring. I love you like a member of this family. You practically are. Yang and I are lucky to have you here for us." He said. Summer backed away from him slightly, still processing those 'three words'.

"I-uh, Thanks?" She said in a questioning tone. Her blushing face became redder.

"Right… You're welcome?" Tai said back in a matching tone.

The two look away from each other in silence for a few moments. Summer shifts in place a bit trying to conceal embarrassment she is feeling. Tai backed away toward the doorway, and slowly begins to walk out.

"Well, I'm heading to bed, for real this time. Have a good night Summer." He said softly.

"Oh, RIGHT goodbye then!" Summer said quickly, trying to play off a sense of normalness. Tai looked at her in a puzzled way for a moment, then slowly shut the door to the room.

A few moments after Tai left the room, Summer turned and walked over to the bed in a defeated manner. When she neared the edge of the bed, she fell face first into the pillow, and just lay there in silence for a few moments.

"What is wrong with me!" She eventually yells into the pillow.

"Thanks?! You're welcome?! Goodbye?!" She said sitting up slightly now.

"He must think I'm a complete idiot!" She said laying on her back now. She picks up the pillow and presses it against her face in frustration.

She sits up slowly, placing the pillow back in its spot. Letting out a sigh, she gets up and starts to rummage through the pile of clothes again.

"He… loves me for me? I don't even want to BE me right now." She said in a frustrated tone, flinging some clothing over her shoulder.

She picks up the nightgown from before, and held it up to her chest to see its length. It goes a little past her knee. She decided to undress, only getting down to her undergarments. She tried on the nightgown, revealing how low it is on her chest. She cant help but feel slightly embarrassed by it, but also found it sort of funny too.

"Well, if it's one thing that woman had over me…" She said softly. She looked toward the window, finally realizing the shades were open. She jolted toward it, shutting them closed.

"Hmph, well if you ARE out there, I hope you enjoyed ME in your clothing." She said looking at the window. She looked down at the gown again and laughs a bit. Rushing toward the window like she did only made her situation worse. She lets out a sigh and pulls the gown off.

She continues to shuffle through all the clothing, starting to feel a bit cold just standing in her undergarments. She finally grabs a plain white shirt that was clearly Taiyang's. She held it up to her chest showing that it would be about thigh length.

"This seems like my best option." She said to herself, slipping on the shirt slightly. She reaches behind her back to remove her brassiere, and then slips the shirt on completely. She unties her half up hair, letting it rest on her shoulders now.

She gathers up her clothes and places them neatly on a nearby box. She does the same with the leftover clothing Tai had brought her. Walking over to the bed now, she sits down on the edge at first, but then shuffles herself to lie down on the pillow.

"I promise not to lie to him… yet I continue too." She pondered to herself.

"I have to tell him the truth first thing in the morning. If Qrow tells him that he told me about Raven, Tai may never trust me again." She said, rolling onto her side to look toward the closet.

She looks at it intently, thinking of the dress she found earlier. Visions of that night start to play in her mind.

"Did I act to late? Or, did I not even have a chance to begin with?" She said softly. She lets out a sigh and looks away from the closet, quickly glancing at her pile of clothes. She squints at it for a moment.

"OH! My scroll! Where did I put it!" She said springing up from the bed and quickly fixing the shirt as it rolled up on her a bit. Rushing over to her clothes, she shuffles through them but does not find it.

"Hm, I hope I didn't leave it in Yang's room. Or Tai's!" She says in a small panic to herself.

She walked over to the door and slowly opens it. She peeks around the corner to see Yang's door slightly shut as well as Taiyang's. She tip-toes slowly down the hall, trying not to make a sound. The floor slightly creeks with each step, making her wince a bit. After making it to Yang's door, she slowly pushes it open and peeks in.

"Where is it…" She said, looking around the room from the edge of the door. After a few glances around, she noticed her scroll on the edge of the changing table.

"Oh thank the gods!" She said softly, tiptoeing into the room.

Summer grabs her scroll, and turns to peek in on Yang, who was curled up in Summers hood. She couldn't help but coo at the sight of how adorable Yang is. She leans in on her toes to give Yang a kiss on the forehead.

"I just can't resist giving kisses to such a cute little thing." Summer whispers to her.

"Sweet dreams little one." She whispered giving her another kiss.

She stands up straight and fixed the shirt again, pulling it down, as she tiptoes out of the room.

"This shirt is not as 'dress' quality as I had hoped." She jokes to herself, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She shuts the door slightly again, but is now facing Taiyangs room. She shivers a bit, wishing she had taken Tai's offer for the slippers earlier. As she was about to make her way back to her room, she noticed there was a dim light on in Taiyangs room, peeking out of the crease of the door. Out of sheer curiosity, she slowly makes her way to the edge of the door.

"I would have thought he'd be asleep by now." She said to herself.

She slightly pushes the door open, hoping it wouldn't make any noise as well as wake him if he was sleeping. She peeks in the best that she can, noticing that Taiyang was in fact, still awake. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the wall. She noticed he had changed clothes as well. He wore only shorts, and had on his slippers. She couldn't help but blush at the sight of him without a shirt on, making her a bit uneasy. He looked like he was looking down at something. Summer pushed the door open a bit more to get a better look.

"Why… why did you throw away everything." He said softly, just loud enough for Summer to hear. She could see that he was holding the picture of the four of them, and that he was slightly crying. The sight of him crying made her have to hold her own emotions back as well.

"I'm not sure… not sure if I'll ever be able to trust in someone again. I loved you, and you threw it away!" He said raising his voice a bit and visually gripping the photo tighter.

"We created a life together, and you left that behind too… YOUR OWN DAUGHTER!" He yelled, throwing the framed photo down to the ground hard. It startled Summer, as she was not expecting him to act out like that. After a moment, he bent down and picked the photo up again.

"And yet… I cant get you out of my head… off my mind. I'm constantly reminded of you because of our daughter… my love for her can not help me let go of what we had." He said softly, in a defeated tone. Summer couldn't hold back her own tears at this point as she watched and listened.

"I feel your presence constantly… I don't doubt you can hear what im saying right now somehow." He said sternly, shoving the photo back under his pillow.

He shifted himself to lay down on the bed, kicking off his slippers first, and wiping tears away from his face.

"I'm not sure if I can ever love again…" He said softly, turning to his right side to turn his light off.

Summer was resisting the heavy urge to walk in and try to console him, though she knew it wasn't her place to get involved in such a manner. She slowly walked back to her room, turning back to look at Taiyangs room. Tears were running down her face uncontrollably.

"I wish I could show you… that you can love again." She said softly to herself looking down in her own pity. She begins to cry more.

"Because I love you…" She said out loud, walking into the room. She turns to shut the door slightly, but peeks out of the room again to look at his room once more.

"More than you will ever know...Tai." She said softly, shutting the door.


End file.
